Page 32 - May 2019 Voices

PERSPECTIVES

It’s Your Journey

Donna Stark, DTM

Immediate Past District Director

The pair of guests walked in the door
together, and it didn’t take me long to realize

that only one of them was there by choice. I
recognized the “Please beam me up, Scotty!”
look of someone wishing they could be anywhere
else. To be honest, if my boss had taken me to a

Toastmasters meeting and told everyone there
that I needed to improve my public speaking
skills, I’d be wanting Scotty to beam me up, too!
It appeared to be a challenge for the guest

to share her name during self-introductions. planner shared that the most frequent question
I wasn’t surprised when she declined an she hears from clients is, “What do other people
opportunity to participate in Table Topics. do?” She responds, “It doesn’t matter what others
There’s something to be said for experiencing do. . .what do you need?”

new things that take us out of our comfort zone. Whether planning for retirement or planning
Our comfort zone isn’t where growth happens. one’s progress through the Toastmasters
But beyond the growth zone is the panic zone. program, everyone’s journey is unique. We
Growth doesn’t happen there, either—and this choose different paths, have different goals, and

is where our guest clearly was. follow different timelines.
Our speakers that day were two of our more One of the things I appreciate about my
experienced members. After the meeting the club is we’re committed to providing a safe and
guest commented, “I don’t think I could ever supportive environment. I think our club would

be that good.” I suppose it is human nature to be a very good fit for this guest. Toastmasters
compare ourselves to Photo35+38Blen but it’s not is often referred to as a safe place to fail. I like
particularly productive. . .especially when that that! Failure is nothing more than a learning
comparison is to someone with more experience. opportunity to learn and grow.

Let’s compare ourselves to our previous selves I hope our guest comes back and lets us
and recognize our own improvement! provide a safe and supportive environment to
I went to a financial session geared achieve her goals, at her pace, and to discover
toward planning for retirement. The financial the leader and speaker she can be.

32 ONE COMMUNITY